The Friendly Bacteria Inside

Many adults experience occasional digestive discomfort is an unpleasant reality that presents a significant obstacle to reaching individual health and lifestyle goals.

A 2013 survey revealed that approximately 72% of American adults experience at least one gastrointestinal (GI) symptom, such as diarrhea, gas, bloating, stomach pains, or frequent bowel movements, per month. The same survey also found that 73% of those experiencing occasional digestive discomfort also reported feeling frustration associated with the issue.

A lackluster complexion has also been linked to imbalance of friendly gut bacteria.

The Human Microbiome

The complex communities of microorganisms that colonize the human gastrointestinal tract, referred to as the Human Biome play an important role in human health. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines probiotics as live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts confer health benefits to the host. In addition, the WHO suggests that the health benefits of probiotics are genus, species, and strain specific.4

Probiotic bacteria may support gut health through a number of different mechanisms, including but not limited to:

1) Competition with unhealthy organisms for growth substrates (effectively, the probiotic uses up the “food” and “starves” the unwanted organisms),
2) Enhancing immune cell function, and
3) May break down the toxins produced by “bad” bacteria.